Container



B. ROSS CONTAINER March 14, 1961 Filed Feb. 24, 1959 INVENTOR. B/ PucE Ross United States Patent CONTAINER Bruce Ross, Scarsdale, N.Y., assignor to IE. Plastics Manufacturing Corp., Yonkers, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Feb. 24, 1959, Ser. No. 795,109

1 Claim. (Cl. 220-60) invention relates to thin-walled, plastic display containers for enclosing articles.

The present display containers have thin-walled tubular body portions with end pieces or covers for closing the ends of the containers. These end pieces may be of several types and are all unsatisfactory. The cardboard type is easily dislodged, damaged or soiled. Further, this type does not provide a dust seal for holding granular materials, such as cosmetic or talcum powders. The cover-type end piece is diflicult to place on the container and is equally ditficult to remove. Moreover, both types form with the tubular member a resilient, flexible container that can be easily crushed. The appearance of the container also is not as neat or attractive as desired.

An object of this invention is to provide a tubular, thin-walled container which is rigid at the ends to provide a greater firmness of shape to the entire container and a neat, attractive appearance.

Another object is to provide a tubular container with end pieces which may be easily fitted into the ends of a tubular member and securely held against dislodgement.

Another object is to provide a rigid-endedthin-walled, self-supporting resilient container that is inexpensive to manufacture and assemble. I

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the drawings in which:

Fig. 1' is a perspective view of the container with top and bottom end pieces;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view of the bottom end of the container and a fragmentary and partial sectional view of the bottom end piece separated from the container;

Fig. 3 is'a fragmentary sectional view of the bottom end of the container with the bottom end piece fitted in place;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view of a modification with a top end piece in place;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view of the top end of the container and a fragmentary and partial sectional view of another embodiment of the top end piece separated from the container;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view of the top end of the container with the top end piece fitted in place; and

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a modification utilizing a string for removing an end piece.

Referring to the drawings, a perspective view of one of the embodiments of the invention is illustrated showing a tubular, thin-walled member 1 having rigid end pieces 2 and 3 fitted in the ends of the tubular member to form an enclosed inner space 4 for containing articles for display or sale. The tubular member 1 has a thin wall 5 and is preferably formed from a sheet of cellulose acetate shaped and fastened by a weld 6 to form a cylindrical, elliptical or other desired shape. The thin wall is then turned at the ends 7 and 8 to form inner rolls or beads around each inner end of the container.

The thin Wall is sulficiently stiff to be self-supporting for retaining the desired shape and returns to the original tubular shape upon indentation of the wall under normal finger pressure. The shape of the inner roll or bead provides a greater stifiness to the bead than to the wall. This stiflness extends over section A. However, the head is sufliciently flexible or resilient to yield to the pressure caused by the insertion of the end piece.

In the embodiment described the rolls 9 and 10 are formed by approximately a single turn of the wall of the tubular member with the ends 11 and 12 spaced slightly from the wall 5. Thus, the bead forms a generally firm member mounted on a flexible, resilient wall so that on application of a radial pressure the inner roll flexes outward due to the resilience of the wall.

The end pieces 2 and 3 are provided to close the ends of the container and to provide a support to the resilient tubular wall and to give a greater firmness to the wall. The bottom end piece 3 comprises a flat circular panel or member 14 and a circular flange 15 normal to the panel and extending circumferentially near the outer edge of the panel to leave a peripheral lip 16 on the panel. The flange 15 has a bead 17 spaced from the panel by the groove 18 formed therein adjacent to the panel. The inner roll or head of the tubular member has a diameter B across the opening. The head 17 on the end piece has a diameter C substantially greater than the diameter B so that when the head of the end piece is in place it is positioned under the head 10, as illustrated in Fig. 3.-

The groove is formed by the upper wall of the bead,

The end piece is fitted in the end of the tubular memberpreferably-by pressing the tapered surface 22 of the end piece'directly against the bead. The tapered surface 22'and the head 10 compress and radially expand the head. When the end piece is forced all the way in, the head 10 snaps into the position described above, andthe head 17 is underneath the inner roll. The pressure seals the end of the container between the head 10 and the end piece. Thus, the bottom piece prevents the escape of granular materials, such as fine powders. When the 'end piece has snapped into position, the end of the tubular member'is slightly radially distended to grip the end piece and hold it firmly in the tubular member.

The stifi panel with the stifi flange gives a rigid backing to the inner roll and, incombination with the stiffnessof the inner roll, provides a supportto the end of the tubular member so that it retains a cylindrical shape under pressure and reduces the deflection of the portion of the tubular member adjacent to the bottom end. The cellulose acetate walls have suflicient resiliency to permit the expansion of the end portions of the tubular member without permanently deforming the tubular member or rupturing the side of the container.

In Fig. 4 a top end piece is illustrated. The top panel 27 extends to be flush with the side of the tubular wall and has a flange 28 with a beveled surface 29. The flange has a depth greater than the diameter of the head 9. The flange has a diameter adjacent the base greater than diameter B and extends to compress the firmly resilient bead 9 into a generally elliptical cross section. A continuous circumferential bearing surface 30 is formed to bear against the surface of the flange to seal the top end against the escape of fine powders. The pressure of the bead 9 against the flange holds the end piece in place. The end piece can be easily removed by gripping the edge of the panel 27 and pulling it out.

7 An end piece similar in shape to the bottom end piece may function as a removable cover; The diameter of the bead 23 is reduced as illustrated in Figs. and'6. The groove 24 is formed by the upper wall of the bead, the lip 25 and an intermediate wall 26. The groove has a Width approximately equal to the diameter D of the bead 9. The reduced diameter of the head 23 and the lesser angle of the upper surface of the bead provides for an easier removal of the end piece. The radial pressure of the end piece against the head 9 causes a continuous circumferential contact between the upper surface of the bead and the head 9 and between the lip and the bead 9 to seal the container against the escape of fine powders. The stiffness of the end piece also provides a stiffening of the top end of the tubular wall and yet permits the easy removal of the cover.

For the purpose of removing the end piece, holes 28 may be provided through the panel and a string 29 extended from the outside through the holes to form a loop with the end members of the string extending between the end piece and the inner roll. When the end piece is to be removed, the loop may be tugged axially to dislodge the end piece from the tubular member. In this embodiment both the top and the bottom pieces may be securely resiliently deformable in cross section, said head having a wall thickness exteremely small in comparison with the diameter of the bead and extending completely around the tubular member to define an opening through the end of the container, said bead curving gradually inward from the tubular wall to forma circumferential radially extending end wall and then curving axially inwardly to form a circumferential axial inner wall defining the minimum diameter of the opening and then curving toward the tubular wall to form an outwardly extending member having a radial width substantially greater than the thickness of the bead wall, a relatively rigid end cover carried and retained by said inner head, said cover comprising a fastened in position so that they require a greater force and which has a neat and presentable appearance. The structure of the invention maintains the container in its original shape and, in addition, securely retains the end pieces in place. Further, the end pieces seal the chamber of the container to prevent the entrance of dust and the like into the container and to retain granular material held in the container. Thus, this container, in addition to a more presentable appearance, can contain a wider variety of products.

The end pieces may be made of polystyrene or any other material which provides a rigid characteristic to the end pieces. The tubular member may be transparent, translucent or opaque and may be colored in various hues and tints. In the foregoing embodiment the container is cylindrical. ber may have ellipsoidal or irregular shapes and still embody the invention. 1

I claim: v a V A closed end structure [for a tubular cylindrically shaped However, the end pieces and tubular memcircular plate having an inner planar surface and an outer planar surface substantially throughout its outer face and an integral solid substantially rigid, locking flange on said inner surface, said flange being spaced inwardly from the periphery of .the plate and having an inner side and'an outer side with an outwardly facing wall and a wall facing said inner planar surface to form an outwardly facing rigid-walled groove with said inner planar surface for retaining said bead'in a circular cross section for a substantial portion of its inwardly extending length and having an inwardly tapering frusto-conical centering surface terminating at the free edge of the flange, the smallest planar cross-sectional diameter of said groove corresponding to the smallest planar cross-sectional diameter of said beaded opening defined by said axial inner wall of said container wherein the cover may be forcibly snapped into closed operative position, the resilient bead expanding into said groove with said circumferential radially extending end wall of said head engaging said plate and the oircum fe'rential axial inner wall engaging said outwardly facing Thus, the invention provides a container which is inexpensive to manufacture its container comprising a tubular wall of thin, flexible plastic 1' ii wall, said facing wall rigid in relation to said flange and plate and extending generally radially and spaced fi'om the inner planar surface a distance corresponding approximately to the diameter of the bead and contacting the outwardly extending member of the head at least a radial distance to press the outwardly extending member of the head into a tighter configuration on the application of an extracting longitudinal force to interlock the end piece and the container wall firmly together.

References Cited in the file of this patent V UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,148,666 Eberthart Aug}, 1915 1,938,590 Hofliman Dec. ,12, 1933 2,030,059 'Ferngren Feb. 11, 1936 2,082,614 Brodick June 1, 1937 2,170,060 Meyer Aug. 22,1939 2,285,270 Gelow June 2, 1942 2,404,485 Gleisner July 23,1946

FOREIGN PATENTS f 5,983 Great Britain of 1896 773,755 France V Sept. 10, 1934 878,487 France Oct. 12, 1942 1,040,076 France May 20, 1953 

